A rubber dam is a device used for the isolation of teeth for purposes of dental treatment. The rubber dam is made of a thin sheet of flexible material. Holes are placed in the rubber dam with a hole punch and individual teeth are poked through these individual holes. A clamp placed upon a tooth is usually used to help hold the dam in place and is most often placed upon the tooth isolated farthest toward the back of the mouth.
The rubber dam is frequently stretched on a frame. The frame functions as a holder of the dam so that the dam does not move into the field of dental interest. On some frames are small barb-like structures for engaging the rubber dam.
During various steps in the process of dental treatment with the rubber dam held in place by the rubber dam frame, so as to isolate a part of the patient's mouth, this isolated part of the patient's mouth tends to quickly fill up with fluids. These fluids include water used to cool a high speed drill, antiseptic solution, irrigation solution, saliva, blood, aerosol spray mists, topical anesthesia, etc.
It is therefore necessary to promptly remove these fluids and to take precautions to prevent the overflow of liquids onto the patient and to prevent the inhalation of aerosol spray mist by the patient and others present in the room.
Attempts have been made in the past to overcome these difficulties; and prior proposals are as follows.
From the Journal of the American Dental Association, Volume 55, in the December 1957 issue, pages 804 to 808, is found the article, "Debridement in Endodontics" by Julius G. Godwin, D.D.S. In this article is a discussion of using a self-retaining drainage tube which is anchored in the rubber dam pouch or pocket formed when the lower portion of the rubber dam is wrapped around a metal frame holder. This drainage tube is anchored by means of an adapter inserted from below through a hole made into the rubber dam pouch. The other end of the drainage tube can be connected to a saliva ejector which will provide suction for evacuation of certain liquids.
From Journal of Dentistry for Children, Volume 32 #2, 1965, pages 112 to 117, is found an article by R. V. Brown, D.D.S., which discusses "Bacterial Aerosols Generated by Ultra High-Speed Cutting Instruments".
From A Manual of Operative Dentistry, in the 1961 Edition, by H. M. Pickard, F.D.S., is found the teaching of a rubber dam used with a completely solid rubber dam frame. This frame has two vertical arms with each arm having the free end portion thereof, not connected to the horizontal arm, bent laterally and curved outwardly away from the face of the dental patient.
From Dental Digest, Volume 71 Number 2, in the February 1965 issue, pages 56 to 59, is found the article, "Fixed Internal Splinting of Anterior Teeth" by Julius G. Godwin, D.D.S. On page 57 is a brief discussion of a rubber dam and frame plus drainage tube similar to that set forth above by the same author in his article found in the Journal of the American Dental Association, December 1957, pages 804 to 808.
From Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, Volume 28 Number 4, in the October 1972 issue, pages 391 and 395, is found the article, "Access--the Key to Success" by Hunter A. Brinker, D.D.S. In this article is a discussion of using a rubber dam with the Endon style frame. This style frame has a rigid extension fastened to the horizontal bar which provides a pouch when the rubber dam is drawn around it.
From Operative Dental Surgery, in the 1972 Edition, pages 58 to 59, by J. J. Messing, D.D.S., et al, is a discussion of various rubber dam clamps and frames.
From The Conservation of Teeth, First Published 1973, in Chapter 11, pages 210, 211 and 213 to 216 is found the article "Control of Fluids in the Mouth" by J. D. Eccles, Ph.D., et al. In this article is a discussion of an integral dam and frame used during certain dental treatments.
From Principles and Practice of Operative Dentistry, by Gerald T. Charbeneau, D.D.S., et al, in the 1975 Edition, at pages 200, 201, and 227 is found a discussion of using an Endon frame with a rubber dam during certain dental procedures.
From A Manual of Operative Dentistry, in the Fourth Edition 1976, pages 34 to 37, is found the article, "The Control of Moisture, Pain, and Trauma in Operative Procedures" by H. M. Pickard F.D.S. In this article is a discussion of using a rubber dam with a rubber dam frame to control moisture in the mouth.
U.S. Pat. No. De. 221,338 issued Aug. 3, 1971, to Brave teaches an ornamental design for a completely solid U-shaped dental dam frame in which the horizontal arm is solid and imperforate.
U.S. Pat. No. 663,507 issued Dec. 11, 1900, to Megular teaches a dental rubber dam holder comprising a circular, dished or deflected, continuous frame, having a base portion curved outwardly to prevent inpingement upon the chain of a dental patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 682,308 issued Sept. 10, 1901, to Young teaches a rubber dam holder formed of a jointless U-shaped completely solid imperforate body portion having engaging points for the rubber dam and having a base portion curved outwardly to prevent impingement upon the chin of a dental patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 730,128 issued June 2, 1903, to Jordan teaches a saliva ejector having buccal and lingual tubular drainage portions with each portion having a saliva inlet, and the inlet of the buccal portion having a manually operable valve, whereby this valve can be maintained normally closed and can be opened at intervals to permit the removal of accumulated liquid from the buccal surface of the mouth.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,292,133 issued Jan. 21, 1919, to Stoughton teaches a rubber dam frame and a plurality of cleats on the outer sides of the frame, each cleat including two oppositely extended considerably elongated point portions aligned with the adjacent part of the frame and having blunt ends, whereby a rubber dam may be laid over the frame and immediately adjacent local portions stretched over the cleats under tension longitudinally of the cleats to be frictionally held thereon by each cleat individually.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,806 issued Aug. 21, 1962, to Cofresi teaches a dental saliva ejector comprising an ejector head containing a tubular member having its ends disposed in side-by-side relation, a connector detachably secured to said ends and retaining them in fixed position and establishing communication between a suction conduit and said tubular member, said tubular member being curved between its ends to provide a frame for enclosing a set of teeth and having inlet orifices opening to both sides of a set of teeth and for educting saliva accumulating on both sides of said set of teeth, and an adjustable brace secured to said tubular member and rigidifying the latter and constituting a tongue depressor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,859 issued June 4, 1963, to Baughan teaches a dental saliva ejector comprising a main suction tube having a first hook-like portion engageable over the lower incisor teeth and adapted to rest on the floor of the mouth on the lingual side of the lower gum during use, and having a second portion horizontal tube section structured to conform to the mouth in the buccal and labial cheek folds.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,452 issued Oct. 22, 1968, to McConville teaches a dental dam frame comprising a rigid U-shaped frame having a horizontal base portion between two vertical stem portions. The base portion is curved outwardly away from the longitudinal axes of the stem portions such that the base portion does not impinge upon the chin of a dental patient when said U-shaped frame is properly positioned for use. The ends of the stem portions remote from the base portion are bent laterally outwardly from one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,491 issued May 29, 1973, to Pabalan teaches a device for preventing the discharge of aerosols from the mouth of a patient during a dental procedure. This device combines a cheek retractor with a means for creating a high vacuum field within the oral cavity for direct aspiration of aerosols, and wherein the stream of outside air entering the patient's mouth to fill the vacuum intercepts any outgoing particles which may have initially escaped aspiration.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,994 issued Jan. 1, 1974, to Hesselgren teaches a dental device comprising a rubber dam and an inflatable hollow tubular frame integral with the rubber dam. There is a conduit means communicating with the interior of the hollow tubular frame by which this frame may be inflated. The inflatable hollow tubular frame forms a collecting pocket about the rubber dam; and there is at least one drain nipple communicating with this collecting pocket for connection with means to evacuate the collecting pocket. The dental device of Hesselgren is so constructed that it is soft and flexible so as to cause a minimum amount of inconvenience when applied to the dental patient. Since the frame piece of Hesselgren is to be inflated with compressed air through an inflation nipple, evacuation holes could not possibly be present in the rear side of the frame piece, because these holes would permit the compressed air to escape and would result in a deflationary collapse of the previously inflated frame of Hesselgren. According to Hesselgren, the frame cannot be a rigid frame, since it must be soft and flexible for reasons of patient comfort, and since this structure must be flexible to be inflatable. For all these reasons, the Hesselgren frame does not itself function to evacuate through the frame fluids which are adjacent to the frame after these fluids had been first collected by the rubber dam.